Seagrove Pre-Conference, May 26—June 7

Starting Friday, May 26th through Thursday, June 7th, attendees will have the opportunity to experience ceramic exhibitions, tours, contribute work to wood kiln firings, participate in firing shifts and other special events with over 20 of the Seagrove area's woodfire artists and their guests. Participants can customize their pre-conference schedule based on the firings they decide to contribute work for, so check out the schedule below and make your choices when you register!

To kick off the exciting pre-conference festivities, Ben Owen III is hosting a party at his pottery on Saturday evening, June 3rd. This celebration is a way for the pre-conference artists to meet and share their experiences during an exciting week dedicated to the love and beauty of ceramic woodfiring. There is so much more on the Seagrove schedule! Cousins in Clay will also be going on that same weekend, June 3rd and 4th, ending with a Potters lunch on Sunday afternoon, which gives attendees another chance to meet and see demonstrations by more amazing ceramic guest artists. Check out the Cousins in Clay schedule!

Registration Pricing for Seagrove Pre-Conference: $225 or $125 for students

Must present student ID at check-in

When participants are not firing the kilns they are welcome to visit other firings to meet the other pre-conference artists and their guests. Several guest national and international artists of STARworks and the NC Pottery Center are also participating in the Seagrove pre-conference firings. The guest artists will most likely fire with several of the potter's throughout the week so expect to see them scattered across the firing schedule. Also, a featured ceramic artist will build and fire a large scale sculpture at the NC Pottery Center to be revealed during the pre-conference.

Each participant in this pre-conference will have the opportunity to contribute pots to three of the ten kilns being fired. You will choose which firings you want to participate in when purchasing your ticket. Each kiln has a limited amount of space and has been divided to allow for as many participants as possible. Not all the kiln loadings start on May 27th so be sure to look closely at the schedule to find out the specifics of each firing schedule. All participants will receive a registration email detailing information about delivering work, what to expect when you arrive, and how best to prepare for the Pre-conference after you register. No transportation is provided for traveling to the various pre-conference event sites. Firing schedules will be assigned when you arrive at registration. You may sign up for additional firing shifts at that time.

In addition to the pre-conference artists, there are more ceramic artists and potteries in the area that will be open to the public. In Seagrove, it's a continuous pottery experience all year round! When not firing, pre-conference participants are encouraged to travel around the area visiting other potteries. Within a 20 mile radius there is nearly 100 pottery shops to visit. Set your own pace as you go from shop to shop. Seagrove offers a range of pottery, from functional everyday use, sculptural, folk art, to historical forms from the past.

The wood kiln at The Clay Studio is a three-chambered Noborigama; one wood ash, one glaze and the largest of the three being a 24 cu/ft salt chamber. The kiln was designed and built as a collaboration between Andres Allik of Estonia, Takuro Shibata and Hajimu Kato of Shigaraki, Japan in 2006.

The Jugtown fast fire kiln is a Fred Olsen designed kiln. It is a small down draft kiln with two fireboxes; one accessed from each side under the kiln. This kiln can be fired quickly, but it can also be held back with green wood and soaked. It is a great kiln for one person to fire alone and it is small enough in size for good control of reduction for clay bodies and glazes. It has a stacking space of about 25 cu. ft.

Ingrid will build one large-scale piece during the pre-conference at the STARworks Clay Studio. The piece will be fired and opened at peak temperature on Saturday night of the main conference. The photo is an example from last year's Firefest event at STARworks with Sergei Isopuv.